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| James #3 James 1:5 But (this word is a little word with a big punch: the last verse just said, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing : BUT � the word completely undoes what was just said indicating that you�re not there yet. Since you�re not perfect and complete yet: you�re going to need some help. If any of you lacks wisdom (in a trial � in a hard situation) First question: What�s �wisdom� mean in this context? The word �wisdom� comes from the Greek word �sophia.� The word means �deep understanding, combined with purity of heart and life.� Is wisdom something we create within ourselves? Where does it begin? If I wanted to truly be �wise� where would I start? Terminal illness, bankruptcy, divorce, rebellious children, bitterness in family lines � tough trials immediately expose our limitations and quickly bring us to the end of ourselves. How do you come up with the �right answers,� the �right direction,� �How do you know what to do? � let him ASK of God, Remember, the first thing that usually happens as a result of trusting in God�s hands instead of His heart is that when the bottom falls out we don�t �ASK� for anything because we no longer trust Him. We look at what we SEE, and what we HEAR because we�re watching His hands. When His hands say no, or don�t act at all, the fire gets hotter and we assume that He�s either against us or doesn�t care and push Him away or run in the opposite direction : Note: You won�t find help or answers doing that. You�ll just go deeper into the problem. Suppose for a moment that you do push Him away. Suppose for a moment that you do run in the opposite direction � that you don�t trust Him. Eventually you get to the point that you can�t push any more, you can�t run anymore and in total exasperation you fall at His feet �as a LAST resort.� How will He respond? What�s the world �conditioned� you to believe? How would the world respond? �Get a life- you�re on your own baby!� --so we approach God �conditioned� to believe He will respond the same way. WRONG. Let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach � �Reproach- �without reproach� �Ok- what�s that? Reproach means : to accuse of and blame for a fault so as to make feel ashamed. How does God give? Generously- not with accusation and blame for fault as to make me feel ashamed. Boy, that sure doesn�t sound like the response I�ve been �conditioned� to expect. God doesn�t say, �Oh great! Here you are begging again after you�ve blown it so many times. Here you are asking AGAIN?? Why in the world would I want to give you a break? Why should I help you out? You deserve to be punished! Figure it out on your own.� Ask..and it will be given Him. If I truly want to be �wise,� where do I start? Look at Psalm 111:10. The fear of the Lord: What�s that? The word �fear� comes from the Hebrew word �yir ah� and means : deeply humbled reverence- awe.� The fear of the Lord is the beginning of what? WISDOM. A good understanding : from the Hebrew word �se kel� which means �discretion, discernment, intelligence� � have all those who DO: from the Hebrew word �asah� which means, �to practice over and over� � His commandments. Wisdom begins by fearing God � not �afraid� fearing, but being aware that nothing is impossible for Him � and having an awesome reverence for how deeply cherished you are and how totally sufficient He is. NOTE: Asking God for �wisdom� will not always give you �understanding.� More so than not, God will not give explanation as to �why� or �how� �He will simply give you the discernment that you need to make right decisions and follow the course of action HE has designed � leading you constantly into DEEPER DEPENDENCE on Him: Free Fall-No strings holding you down. Vs 6: But let him ask in faith (where�s you�re faith? In His hands or His heart? ) without doubting- you will doubt a LOT if you�re only believing because of how good or not good you think you�ve been, or if you�re only believing because of what He does or doesn�t do: Your RELATIONSHIP will bottom out because trust is resting in the wrong place. �Verse 7 � For let not that man expect that he will receive anything from the Lord � why? Because I�m not good enough? Because I didn�t get in enough quiet time? Because my faith isn�t strong enough? Because I can�t pray as well as so and so does? Because I don�t know my Bible like so and so does? No No No- Because I still don�t get it. I still don�t believe that He really loves me. I say I do- but my actions tell a different story! Now think about it for a minute. If I don�t believe that Jesus deeply loves me after He dies because He wants me to trust His heart more than He wants to live�what else could He DO that would make any difference in terms of whether I believe or not? What�s the point in DOING anything for a person like that? Get this: God�s �joy� is made full when He finds a heart that is in AWE that He God..the Creator� The ALL in ALL loves him�God can�t wait to pour things into that persons life! Role play with me for a minute: Be God. You want a relationship more than you want life. You�re willing to give absolutely anything to gain the trust of someone�s heart. You see a child. The child has no understanding. The child has no direction. The child has no purpose. The child has life � a gift, from You. You offer to take care of the child � provide every need- go ahead of � make a way for- The child can�t hear You. The child doesn�t recognize You. You become a child. You live in the child�s neighborhood. You play with his friends. He�s learned to never trust � and �You,� are no exception to the rule. You work hard to show him who You are- pay his bills, fix his meals, heal his sick friends, -He likes the �goods,� but distrusts Your intent: We all know that nothing in this world is free, right? There�s one last move � You pay for every thing he�s ever done wrong and offer him life forever � so that He�ll understand that your love is deeper than anything he�ll ever encounter � is true- is sure- and will NEVER mess over him. His response? �Oh�yeah..� �and he walks away. No relationship..nothin..nada..zippo � Time passes. The child gets in trouble. That child wants you to bail him out of trouble on a regular basis�with no desire to listen to Your heart. How eager would you be to pour yourself into them? Yup�zilcho! Turn the tables a minute: Suppose the child ran into your arms � couldn�t WAIT to be with you � longgggged to spend time with you�was so in awe of what you�d done that they�d do ANYTHING just to be part of what you�re up to�even though they blew it � messed over you � didn�t spend as much time with You as You�d like - How much would you want to pour into that person�s life? EVERYTHING YOU COULD plus a whole lot more. Get the picture? That�s why the person who trusts God for His hands and not His heart isn�t to expect anything from the Lord � being �double minded � unstable in all his ways. Double minded? Hmmm � He loves me one minute..He doesn�t the next�Well He did this for me..so He must love me..but then He didn�t do this..so He must not love me�I�ll take charge now - I�ll trust you God as long as�you DO - Who�s in charge in that picture? Me. I�m trying to be �in control.� If you can understand this when you�re young you will save yourself from a lot of frustration. There is nothing nothing nothing we can DO to increase God�s love for us and NOTHING nothing nothing we can do to diminish it�.Trusting IN GOD�S LOVE frees us from all the �expectations� we may build in our own heads that we think we have to be or do in order to be good enough to find His favor. WE HAVE HIS FAVOR � UNCONDITIONALLY � How we �receive it� will determine our journey. The repeated question I�m giving you is this: Where is your faith anchored? The trials He permits in your life are allowed, to force you into corners where you have no choice but to experience His love and His faithfulness � moments with His heart. Most of the time, when you�re in a trial, all you see is what�s surrounding you � all you hear is what�s filling your ears�You can�t see God..you can�t hear Him�and most if not everything that He�s doing doesn�t make sense AT ALL. Everything you see and everything you hear is a direct attack on His Word � accusing Him of being a liar, One who abandons, One who�s deaf to your cries and insensitive to your pain. What�s being tested is HIS WORD. It forces you into a choice: You either trust in His love for you � or you doubt it. If you trust in His love for you, you�re RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM will stand firm (you will FEEL � but you will not bail out on your relationship. Your �relationship� will hold you in position.) � If you doubt His love for you, because your hope is resting in His hands � in what He will do or won�t do you�ll function outside of a relationship with Him and start to drown ..only to find yourself coming back to the same trial down the road, and taking another trip around the same barnyard until you finally GET IT )�so get it the first time if you can! Smile I love you guys�l Am pretty tired tonight! Had one dog nip another dogs ear today and flick blood all over my house, resulting in a $300 surgery for stitches! (endurance?- smile) Grow in the Lord where you are- minister to whoever He brings into your life � and pray without ceasing � Keep gratitude..GRATITUDE in front of you all the time � remember, it�s the root of joy. More tomorrow! My prayers are with you. Robin �copyright 2001 Jim and Robin Hibschman |
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